The Long Song by Andrea Levy
ConversazioniOrange January/July
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1rainpebble
My answer to Darryl's 'An Orange a Month' for September. (I am quite liking this challenge)
My thoughts & comments:
This story, The Long Song by Andrea Levy, is interesting, even fascinating at times. That proved to be the problem for me....at times. It is about Miss July, (Marguerite as she came to be called by her mistress), a slave in Jamaica on an elite plantation during the days of excess, the days of the Queen freeing the slaves, the days of the freed slaves revolting and the days of the failing plantations. Miss July is a very interesting character and if the book had chosen to stay on the task it began, I think it would have been much better but it chose to go off in different directions that I found distracting. Characters would be introduced that you liked but then came to disrespect. Miss July was always the same and I liked her a great deal. My biggest gripe comes at the end of the book when it goes into her son's journalism and I just pretty much got bored with the whole thing by then, but for the fact that I knew we would come back to Miss July. And we did.
I reluctantly recommend this book. I think some will really like it and some not. I am just below the middle of the graph and gave it 3 stars. I scored it that high for the hope that I found within it and for the first 4/5 of the book.
~belva
My thoughts & comments:
This story, The Long Song by Andrea Levy, is interesting, even fascinating at times. That proved to be the problem for me....at times. It is about Miss July, (Marguerite as she came to be called by her mistress), a slave in Jamaica on an elite plantation during the days of excess, the days of the Queen freeing the slaves, the days of the freed slaves revolting and the days of the failing plantations. Miss July is a very interesting character and if the book had chosen to stay on the task it began, I think it would have been much better but it chose to go off in different directions that I found distracting. Characters would be introduced that you liked but then came to disrespect. Miss July was always the same and I liked her a great deal. My biggest gripe comes at the end of the book when it goes into her son's journalism and I just pretty much got bored with the whole thing by then, but for the fact that I knew we would come back to Miss July. And we did.
I reluctantly recommend this book. I think some will really like it and some not. I am just below the middle of the graph and gave it 3 stars. I scored it that high for the hope that I found within it and for the first 4/5 of the book.
~belva
2buriedinprint
I just listened to a podcast with Andrea Levy on The Guardian (it's available here) which I found really interesting.
She was actually discussing Small Island but I found it interesting to listen to the way she develops stories and the cadence of her voice which alters significantly depending on which character's voice she is reading at the time.
Definitely worth a listen! (Although there was a rather significant spoiler about the novel, which I haven't yet read myself, but still want to, nonetheless!)
She was actually discussing Small Island but I found it interesting to listen to the way she develops stories and the cadence of her voice which alters significantly depending on which character's voice she is reading at the time.
Definitely worth a listen! (Although there was a rather significant spoiler about the novel, which I haven't yet read myself, but still want to, nonetheless!)
3vancouverdeb
Personally, I loved both Long Song and Small Island by Andrea Levy. I'm looking forward to Orange January!
